Three-time Stanley Cup champion Brent Seabrook will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game, and the Chicago Blackhawks' alternate captain isn't happy about it.
"I think I've been playing good," Seabrook told reporters Tuesday from Nashville. "I've obviously been on for some goals against. Tough situation, but I feel like I'm skating better. I feel like I've got a lot to offer this team."
Seabrook, 34, was scratched for Sunday's game against the Kings, a much-needed 5-1 win that snapped a four-game winless streak. He'll now sit against the Predators. Before this week, Seabrook had been a healthy scratch only one other time in his career -- in January 2018 by then-coach Joel Quenneville.
"I don't think I need rest," Seabrook said Tuesday. "I think I feel great. I'm 34. You guys seem to want to write articles about my age and my speed. I feel like I still got a lot to offer in this league and still be a good player for somebody."
Blame for the fall of the once-mighty Blackhawks has often coalesced around Seabrook. The league has gotten faster and he's gotten a little slower. And he still gets paid like a star, carrying the third-highest salary cap hit on the team. He's in the fourth year of an eight-year deal at $6.875 million per season that has a full no-movement clause for this season and then two more. This season, Seabrook has the worst Corsi For Percentage on the team at 43.9.
It all adds up to Seabrook being virtually untradable. Not that everyone wants to see him go, however. Teammates routinely call him the heart and soul of the teams that won Cups in 2010, '13 and '15 and even today as the Blackhawks rebuild on the fly.
That fact that Seabrook added that he could be a good player "for somebody," however, speaks to a new level of frustration for the blueliner.
Coach Jeremy Colliton said that veteran players can use some rest once in a while and emphasized that Seabrook can still help the team. He vowed to keep the lines of communication open. But Seabrook said there hasn't been extensive conversation.
"There is no conversation, he just told me," Seabrook said. "That's it."
Seabrook wasn't the only Blackhawks stalwart taking a backseat Tuesday. Goalie Corey Crawford sat for the fourth time in five games, with Robin Lehner getting the call in net.